The Betrayal of Liberalism — By Liberals

NPR just opened up a new front in the Culture Wars – and I suspect the liberals who run that place have no idea what damage they’ve done — or what they’re in for.

As you know by now, my fellow FOX News analyst Juan Williams got fired for saying something supposedly controversial about Muslims. But make no mistake, Juan isn’t the only casualty. So is American liberalism.

On the O’Reilly Factor on Monday night Williams said, “I mean, look, Bill, I’m not a bigot. You know the kind of books I’ve written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.”

And this is a fireable offense?

NPR issued a statement saying Williams’ comments “were inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR.”

Here’s a bulletin, NPR: Lots and lots and lots of Americans feel the same way as Juan Williams. And that includes lots and lots of liberals. And probably a lot of liberals who work at NPR. Juan’s “crime” wasn’t that he said something bigoted. His crime is that he said something that liberals find politically incorrect. And that he said it out loud. And worst of all, that he said it on the FOX News Channel.

In liberal circles this is nothing less than a crime against humanity!

What makes this so crazy – and so sad — is that liberals are the open-minded ones, the ones who cherish the free exchange of ideas, the smart ones. And if you don’t believe me, just ask any liberal who will be glad to tell you how smart and open-minded he or she is. But these are the kind of people who believe in “free speech” only as long as they agree with you.

I feel bad for Juan, He’s a good, decent man. His firing will make lots of other Americans think twice before they say something the boss may not like. And that’s not a good thing in a democracy that thrives on vibrant, sometimes controversial ideas. But I feel worse for American liberals. Because what we have here is one more piece of evidence that too many of them have forgotten how to be liberal.

Only about 20 percent of Americans nowadays identify themselves as liberals. Liberalism was once a great American movement. It led the fight for civil rights, the most important issue, as far as I’m concerned, of the 20th century.

It’s a shame that liberalism is dying in this country. It’s an outright crime that liberals are suffocating it.

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TOMMY FREEDOM

WILLIE JUAN HAS ALWAYS HAD TROUBLES, HE TALKS TOO MUCH W/O
ENGAGING GRAY MATTER. HE TALKED ABOUT RELIGIOUS GARG ON A
PLANE, TALKED TOO MUCH ” FIRED”. ON FOXY, HE FIGHTS WITH ALL
PANELISTS, GETS UPSET, TALKS TOO MUCH, CHRIS HAS TO RESTRAIN HIM.
SAYS SAME POINTS EVERY WEEK, ITS ALEDGED HE BELONGS TO A
RADICAL FRONT GROUP. HE IS A SPECIALIST ON RIDICULOUS IDEAS.
IF A PANELIST DISAGREES, HE RANTS & RAVES AND TAKES OVER THE
PROGRAM. SOMETIMES I HIT ” MUTE” OR ” OFF” BUTTON.
PS SARAH PALIN IN A POLL BEATS OPRAH & MICHELLE O SORRY JUAN

TOMMY FREEDOM

TELL WILLIE JUAN HE MAY HAVE TO GO BACK TO NPR, SORRY ! ! !

HIS IDOL, OBAMOS IS LOOKING TO TAKE OVER THE INTERNET, TALK

RADIO, AND FOX NEWS, MICHAEL COPPS FCC WILL SHUT IT DOWN

TOMMY FREEDOM

BERNIE, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, PLEASE REMOVE JUANIE’S WILLIES

PHOTO FROM THE WEBSITE, ITS 6 PM AND I WOULD LIKE TO

EAT DINNER !

TOMMY FREEDOM

TO CELEBRATE JUAN WILLIAMS, THERE SHOULD BE A LARGE ROUNDTABLE

PANEL DISCUSSION. HOWEVER, JUAN WOULD HAVE TO REMAIN SILENT
AD HAVE THE TV CAMERA DIRECTLY ON JUAN. THE OTHER PANELIST
WOULD CRITICIZE OBAMA CONTINUOUSLY, SO WE COULD ENJOY ALL
THE FUNNY & UGLY FACES, AND SQUIRMING THAT JUAN DOES. VERY
ENTERTAINING.

Ray Jacobs

“Here’s a bulletin, NPR: Lots and lots and lots of Americans feel the same way as Juan Williams” – Here’s a bulletin Bernie, lots of Americans walk a little faster if they’re alone on a street and see an African American behind them. Lots of Americans although they don’t necessarily HATE homosexuals, don’t want one living near them. Lots of Americans snicker at the broken English they hear ni an Chinese restaurant. No, they’re not bad people – they just are flawed as all of us are in some way. Saying lots of Americans feel like Juan Williams excuses stereotyping people based on your fears and seeks to legitimize it. NPR had no right to fire Juan Williams but that doesn’t excuse his statement. Had he followed it up with “I recognize my fears are irrational and I’d like to work to change them” then maybe he’d have a job today. Liberalism is dead eh? Like Conservatism died after the last GOP defeat???

TOMMY FREEDOM

ITS STILL THE SAME, JUST A DIFFERENT DAY, THE X-NPR AGENT ON THE
PANEL TODAY, HALLOWEEN, AROSE FROM THE GREAT PUMPKIN AND GOT
IN HIS USUAL ARGUMENT & FIGHT WITH BILL K. BERNIE, DO THEY GET A
CASH BONUS FOR FIGHTING? THEY WERE IN A DISPUTE OVER THE
NUMBER OF SEATS TO WIN. IT WAS AN UGLY SCENE. MR X- STILL CANT
FACE THE FACTS THAT HIS FEARLESS IS BEING REJECTED WHOLESALE.

TOMMY FREEDOM

HEY BERNIE, SINCE MR WILLIAMS IS A TRUE LEFTIST, WE SHOULD GIVE HIM HIS OWN TV SHOW AS A REWARD. NAME IT: ” NOW I’M NUMBER JUAN”
I HAVE SOME TV TIPS FOR HIS SHOW !
1) HE SHOULD BRAG ABOUT HIMSELF, 2) TELL AUDIENCE RATINGS ARE THRU THE ROOF, 3) HIS BOOK SOLD 10 MILLION COPIES 4) SHOW THE BOOK AND RAISE THE PRICE, 5) FOREIGN POLICY ANALYST SHIELA JACKSON LEE, 6) PUSH JUANIE GEAR, 7) HAVE 3 FEMALE ATTORNEYS DISCUSS UNDERWEAR FOR CHIMPANZEES, 8) POLITICAL GENIUS & GURU
DEB WASSERMAN, 9) READ ONLY LETTERS THAT PRAISE YOUR BOOK.
10) TELL EVERYONE YOUR BOOK IS $30 WHEN OTHERS ARE $15 BECAUSE ITS TWICE AS GOOD, 11) TV & PERSONAL ATTORNEY GLORIA BIG-RED
12) IDOLIZE OBAMAS & ALWAYS GIVE THEM A PASS, PRETEND YOU DONT
KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING, 13) BRAG ABOUT ALL YOUR CHARITIES, 13)
NAME YOUR FAVORITE ” SKINHEADS” AND ” GOOF BALLS” 14) READ
ONLY EMAILS THAT TELL EVERYONE ” HOW GREAT YOU ARE” ! ! !

Nancy

I think we should fire the President for saying conservatives should sit in the back of the bus.

CCNV

I second that!

Cap’n Eddie Ricketyback

“Williams DID say something stupid. Should he have been fired? Maybe, maybe not, but it’s still NPR’s right. They are his employer, and there is no government law forbidding a company to do this.”
No rational person who has climbed aboard an airliner since 9/11 has not felt some anxiety when he sees an obvious muslim on the same airplane. I suppose this poster thinks it’s stupid to publicly express that anxiety.

Williams’ employer did have a right to fire him, just as the rest of us have the same right to criticize/ridicule/denigrate said employer when it does something that is REALLY stupid, and demand that our tax dollars stop supporting such employer. Last time I checked, Fox News doesn’t receive government subsidies.

Whether NPR receives 3%, 16%, or whatever from our benevolent government, it should be withdrawn. Soros should easily be able to step into the breach.

Greg

Nice wishful thinking Bernie, that liberalism is dying. You guys jump on any opportunity to make this case, that the world is just “fed up!” with liberals and their crazy ways.

This country only two years ago elected Barack Obama. Democrats control both houses of Congress by huge margins. America is fed up with the left? This might change soon granted, but this is VERY recent history.

But the real issue is, what the hell is “liberalism”? Is it liberal to, say, want a clean environment? To avoid war at all costs? To want health care to be affordable and equally accessible by all? To just be kind to your neighbor? Treat others as you would have them treat you? Couldn’t these also be described as Christian values? Or just common-sense American values?

Most liberal-minded people know that this label, this word “liberal” is ridiculous as it’s impossible to pigeonhole what exactly “liberal” is. So I think most like myself avoid the label. Labels are simple-minded and for soda cans. To me this is why only 20% of people call themselves “liberal”. If someone asked me, I’d sooner say “leave me alone with your pathetic poll” than say “yes, I’m a LIBERAL!”

As for the Juan Williams controversy, imagine if Juan had said “You know, when I’m on a train and there’s black people on there, I feel nervous, and I start to clutch my wallet.” Pretty prejudiced, isn’t it? What’s different about what he said about Muslims? OH that’s right, Muslims ARE for the most part violent terrorists who we should be nervous around on an airplane.

It is Fox and the conservatives who have exposed themselves in this instance as the prejudiced ones. Suddenly Williams is their hero, because he made a blatantly prejudiced statement. He gets a RAISE from Fox INSTANTLY! This is strange because before this comment Juan was constantly at odds with almost every commentator on Fox. But now after he said something prejudicial about Muslims, now he’s their best friend. “Welcome to the team, buddy!” they seem to be saying.

I’m exaggerating, but you get the point. Rick Sanchez got fired for saying something prejudicial about Jews. Did Fox and the right get all up in arms about that? I mean really get outraged like they are over this? Demand that people stop watching CNN? No, they didn’t, and that’s because it was understood he said something stupid, and while maybe you disagreed with firing him, it was CNN’s right to.

But add that bastion of “liberalism” NPR to the equation and a lack of sensitivity to what sounds prejudiced to a Muslim, and you have an all out freakout about the “lack of free-speech” and the “PC police being out of control”, and “let’s defund NPR.”

Williams DID say something stupid. Should he have been fired? Maybe, maybe not, but it’s still NPR’s right. They are his employer, and there is no government law forbidding a company to do this. I always thought that was a “conservative” value.

And one last thing – to hear Fox News criticize NPR for being biased is like Britney Spears criticizing Barbara Streisand for being too slutty. Give me a break.

Terence

Great post

Terry Walbert

Gred, You wrote “As for the Juan Williams controversy, imagine if Juan had said “You know, when I’m on a train and there’s black people on there, I feel nervous, and I start to clutch my wallet.” Pretty prejudiced, isn’t it? What’s different about what he said about Muslims? OH that’s right, Muslims ARE for the most part violent terrorists who we should be nervous around on an airplane.”

No one should be fired for saying what Juan Williams said, or for saying what they might feel about black people, Jews, Christians, or homosexuals.

It’s called getting in touch with your feelings.

Charlie W.

You sound like the typical FoxNews hater, who bases his opinion on the clips that he sees on HuffPo of Sean Hannity. The mere fact that guys like Hannity have a job, much less a huge megaphone, rankles you people. In fact, the NEWS shows on FoxNews are the most fair and balanced news shows on the air. They invite people from both sides of an argument to present their positions. The OPINION shows range from far-right leaning to moderate. If you want to get the full story about a news item, FoxNews is the best network to get it. You cannot say that about NPR, or any of the mainstream media or cable news networks, which unabashedly skew all of their news to the left. And I have never heard a FoxNews executive say that someone who expresses an opposing opinion needs to see a psychiatrist.

Greg

The reason you never hear a Fox executive say that is because THERE ARE NO MORE LIBERALS ON THAT STATION TO SAY THAT ABOUT!

No I thought Juan’s statement was a little too personal and prejudiced, and that’s why it was condemned. He has expressed many opinions that would not be considered “liberal”, and that has never caused him to be fired.

I do actually watch Fox News from time to time – I find people like Megyn Kelly and Neil Cavuto (especially Kelly) to be incredibly hostile and biased against Democrats and “liberals” in their reporting. To the point where Kelly is even snide and sarcastic when reporting about or having discussions about Democrats and their policies. And she is their main daytime hard “news” reporter. Their opinion commentators are another story, EVERY single one of them right wing or extreme right wing. They sometimes invite other opinions on their shows (Beck and Hannity rarely do), but they hardly get a say in, with O’Reilly famously ending interviews with “I’ll give you the last word”, only to follow up his guest’s comments with his own opinion being the last word. The overall complexion of that channel is very conservative – fair and balanced is a sham. NPR on the other hand I always find to include many sides of an argument or a story, and not just the “liberal” or “conservative” one. But the most important thing they contribute to the world of news, and what most left-leaning people like me like, is actual IN DEPTH reporting. You don’t just get the sound bites and a 3 minute conversation about it. You get a whole hour dedicated to an issue, with many facets of it explored. That is why NPR is invaluable and puts most news organizations to shame.

TOMMY FREEDOM

I GOT A SECRET MEMO FROM RAUL TODAY, HE IS SO SICK OF FIDEL

GOING ON AND ON ABOUT HOW GREAT OBAMA & THE DEMS ARE, HE HAD

NO CHOICE, HE HAD TO FIRE HIM. DO YOU THINK HE COULD STAR ON

THE ” BIG O’ EGO FACTOR ” AND A LOVE FEST TOO. WHAT SAY YOU??

http://www.blurb.com/user/store/DanFarfan Dan Farfan

Here’s an answer NPR will never give:

Was Juan fired for having the feeling or for saying on TV that he had the feeling?

If having the feeling is a fireable offense, then by not firing more people, NPR is essentially saying that no one else in their employ feels the way Juan does. Which raises another question NPR will never answer. How exactly did they determine that none of their other employees feel the way Juan does?

But, if having the feeling is okay, just saying it out loud is not, we’re into a whole new level of totalitarian dysfunction. Perhaps another admirer of Mao, Stalin or Lenin just publicly outed herself. Which, is noteworthy in that it’s apparently not a fireable offense to admire totalitarians, especially if you are already in power.

Go figure.

Dan
– “The Next 10 Amendments”

Terry Walbert

What is happening is that we are creating a crybaby news culture where reporters will censor themselves rather than risk saying anything “offensive.” I am sick and tired of “offensive” remarks as an excuse for firing someone, whether they are Helen Thomas, Rick Sanchez, or Juan Williams.

If we want a free society based on vigorous, honest debate, we have to accept that some people will be offended.

Jay Thompson

Bernie,

From Wil Burns: “Scott, Do you really believe, the Muslim community has become the next “protected” class of citizenry in America?… Didn’t Rick Sanchez & Helen Thomas get fired by CNN recently for making remarks about Jewish control of the media. Where was the lunatic right? Juan Williams makes ludicrous and bigoted statements about Muslims and the lunatic right predictably defends him.”

1) CAIR demands precisely what you suggest is not so, Muslims becoming the next protected class of citizenry in America. Dr. Jassar spoke to this issue on Friday night with Juan Williams on The O’Reilly Factor. If you didn’t hear his words, then don’t come back bashing from a position of liberal ignorance.
2) The “lunatic right” (your pejorative words) is under no obligation to defend indefensible comments by either Sanchez or Thomas. You are comparing apples to oranges. Incompetence on the part of Sanchez and bigotry on the part of Thomas are charges you cannot legitimately make toward Juan Williams. His record on the matter of bigotry is well-documented, both in his own books, and his journalistic track record in total. Thomas, however, has a long history of hating Jews, or at least resenting them, in the name of Lebanese Arabs. Sanchez is simply under-qualified and uninformed rendering him less than ideal to the do the job CNN tasked him to do. There is widespread agreement here, both from the left and the right.
3) Finally, you just don’t get it when distinguishing between heartfelt feelings and opinions versus bigotry. You will not ever get it as long as you continue to view everything through the lens of ridiculous, closed minded leftist ideology. Regardless, quit posturing yourself as a liberal – for your very vitriol defies the definition of the word.

EddieD_Boston

Very well stated. But Wil has no ability to understand. He’s a complete dimbulb.

http://svmissinglink.blogspot.com/ Wil Burns

Bernie, Who cares why the company decided to fire Juan. Unlike most people who lose their jobs, he was immediately hired by Faux Entertainment for a substantial salary increase. He needs to take his marbles, which he obviously lost, go to the bank with the new money, and finally come out of the closet and show his true Conservative colors.

EddieD_Boston

With each post you sound more and more like a moron. Seriously Wil, do you even watch Fox or do you just follow in lockstep with the loonies who post on the DailyKook?

You’re making a fool of yourself and are too stupid to realize it.

http://svmissinglink.blogspot.com/ Wil Burns

Eddie, Instead of spewing insults, how about an educated response!

Tim

You mean like the educated response NPR gave to Juan when the fired him?

http://svmissinglink.blogspot.com/ Wil Burns

Bernie, Juan is where he belongs, where he can be the ultra-weak voice of the left, ready to agree with the hate-filled hosts at the drop of a hat, and set up to be destroyed by louder and more confident conservative panelists on a daily basis. He know longer has to pretend to have honor or integrity

NPR News is far better off without him.

stmichrick

Hate-filledhosts on Fox,Wil?
There are no better examples of hate than Olbermann and Schultz.

Bruce A.

Nobody watches MSNBC, therefore these two guys don’t count.
Also, libreals can spew anything hateful out of their mouth & get away with it.

stmichrick

It’s funny and frustrating.
So many ordinary people who call themselves ‘liberal’ because, to them, that means ‘open-minded’ and intellectual, should be shaken by this episode. FoxNews comes off as benevolent saviour for Juan. It was all O’Reilly could do to avoid saying, ‘Come to Papa, Juan,’ the other night.

These liberals view FoxNews this way because they cannot deal with conservative views being put forward in an assertive way as they often are on the Channel. They are blind to the reverse scenario on the other networks.

Drinking KoolAid makes you blind I guess

http://svmissinglink.blogspot.com/ Wil Burns

I say, rehire Juan Williams…as soon as AP rehires Helen Thomas AND she gets back her no. 1 seat at Presidential news conferences.

BERNIE, I SWEAR THIS IS TRUE, I LOST MY JOB THE SAME DAY AS JUAN.
I WAS WORKING IN A RETAIL STORE WITH SOME YOUNG KIDS,
NOTHING IN COMMON, WE WERE FROM TWO DIFFERENT
THEY TALKED VIDEO GAMES AND CRAZY MUSIC, ANYWAY I’M
CONSERVATIVE, BIG ON POLITICS, BERNIE COULD FOX NEWS
THROW ME A LOVE FEST AND GIVE ME A TV SHOW. I WAS
FIRED UNFAIRLY OF MY MATURITY, THAT SHOULD BE WORTH
SOMETHING, I COULD SUB FOR OREILLY, WHAT DO YOU
THINK.

http://www.bernardgoldberg.com/ Bernie

The Freedom Factor. I like it.

http://www.bigbureaucracy.com/ Ellie Velinska

You can vote to defund NPR on the Eric Cantor’s YouCut web-site. If it is the winning item of the week the proposal will be voted on the floor of the House of the Representatives.

Far left is vicious – so is the far right. I just got banned from a conservative forum for supporting the repeal of DADT – which will probably be the recommendation of the military on December 1 and will be based on the NATO experience (most of the NATO countries recruit openly gay already – including UK). I was insulted and my account banned.

There is no discussion – everybody just insults everybody, walks out, fires, banns. Left and right.

Nancy

Juan apparently was the “good” black at NPR and when he no longer pleased Ms Schiller (the white plantation owner), well, he had to go. That is the appalling thing about liberals, they associate with minorities only as long as it suits their purpose, then kick them to the curb when they become “uppity” (independent thinkers). The democrats never really changed their stripes from the pre-civil war times, they just got more sophisticated in hiding them. And the tactic of alluding to some mental problem as a weapon against dissent, ah, well, that would represent the modern day whipping.

chuck

I find it peculiar that in the liberal’s, progressive’s,koolaid drinker’s (whatever you wish to call them) eyes Fox News is a RIGHT WING media outlet that only spews the right wing’s agenda. Yet when a liberal such as Mr Williams is identified as a Fox news contributor he gets fired from his liberal gig at NPR for it. So what does Fox do? They hire Mr Williams and undoubtedly will give him an expanded rope on their network (even though he still is a liberal). If Fox was what they say it is, Mr Williams wouldn’t have been a contributor and wouldn’t have gotten fired by NPR. What the hell do you libs want anyway? Oh by the way, watch out Mara Liason they will soon be after you.

chuck

typo, should be “role” on their network.

Terry Walbert

Chuck wrote, “Oh by the way, watch out Mara Liason they will soon be after you.”

Chuck, I would love to be a fly on the wall if Vivian Schiller or Ellen Weiss confront Mara Liasson.

What I find more alarming about this is the apparent goal of the Muslim community to become the next “protected” class of citizenry. It seems that if ANYONE makes a disparaging comment about Islam that person is immediately vilified. However, if one makes the same comments regarding Christians or Jews they are lauded.

Adolf

Nobody survives that makes disparaging comments on Jews in the US my friend.

http://svmissinglink.blogspot.com/ Wil Burns

Scott, Do you really believe, the Muslim community has become the next “protected” class of citizenry in America?

Cam

The firing of Juan Williams proves the validity of every point made by Mr. Golberg in his book “Bias”. As a Canadian I have an elementary question: ” In a land where freedom of speech and liberty have been declared “inalienable rights” —- is the firing of Juan Williams for not being politically incorrect an Unamerican Activity?

Americans have to return to being that which they have an utter monopoly namely being Americans. A small example will illustrate my point. This year a young pitcher pitched a perfect game except that the umpire missed the call on the 27th batter. Looking at the replay the umpire realized his error and profusely apologized for taking a perfect game away from the “young man” and nearly broke into tears on national television. The news media asked his manager as to whether or not baseball should employ television replays to correct incorrect calls. The manager replied that the umpire get 98% of the calls right and human error is an inherant part of baseball. The pitcher who lost out on having a perfect game was interviewed and expressed his dissapointment but refused to bad mouth the umpire in question. All of the foregoing epitomized something that non Americans have come to expect from Americans …. generosity and true tolerance for their fellow man. Where was the generosity and true tolerance for Juan Williams …. who by the way said absolutely nothing which was untoward???????

Terry Walbert

Cam, I think that NPR is trying to imitate the CBC and BBC when it comes to enforcing uniformity of opinion.

Has anyone at NPR considered that maybe Juan Williams and Mara Liasson were walking advertisements for NPR on Fox News?

As for this statement, “If Helen Thomas and Rick Sanchez can get sacked for saying things perceived as being directed against a group…”

Why should any news commentator be fired for offending anyone? When I’m offended, I hit the channel button or the Off switch.

http://svmissinglink.blogspot.com/ Wil Burns

Carn, Much ado about nothing by the lunatic right. Didn’t Rick Sanchez & Helen Thomas get fired by CNN recently for making remarks about Jewish control of the media. Where was the lunatic right? Juan Williams makes ludicrous and bigoted statements about Muslims and the lunatic right predictably defends him.

http://svmissinglink.blogspot.com/ Wil Burns

Bernie “I feel bad for Juan, He’s a good, decent man. His firing will make lots of other Americans think twice before they say something the boss may not like.”>>

Bernie, Then why do you constantly ban me?

Ron Kean

We wish.

Adolf

If Helen Thomas and Rick Sanchez can get sacked for saying things perceived as being directed against a group, then so can Juan.

http://svmissinglink.blogspot.com/ Wil Burns

Bernie’s opinions must concur with Bill O’Reilly’s and Foxnews.

’nuff said!

Berg

Is that supposed to be an insult? If so, you’ve missed one

EddieD_Boston

Another stupid, pointless post. You’re on roll.

EddieD_Boston

ooops…a roll

KrisL

I also frequently disagree with Juan’s opinions, but I’ve always respected him. He says what he means, he has thought about his opinions and doesn’t just parrot the party line, and he disagrees with liberals when he thinks they’re wrong. He’s what Bill O’Reilly calls a “stand up guy” and more so than most.

I agree that Juan seemed hurt by what happened to him. In the long run this will probably be beneficial to him, but it must have been a bit of a shock, even though he must have known they were unhappy about him being on Fox News.

TOMMY FREEDOM

THE WORST PART IS OVER, THATS A BLESSING, I JUST HAVE ONE

QUESTION, HOW SOON WILL THE HUGE ROCK BE MOVED BACK, AND

JUAN WILL RISE FROM THE DEAD ??????

Bruce A.

He’s back. Better than ever.
NPR did him a huge favor.

Ron Kean

Because of Juan’s liberal point of view he has given credence to the boast that Fox is fair and balanced. Roger Ailes has renewed Juan’s contract for Fox and announced compensation of 2 million.

The problem is, like many of us who used to be liberals and Democrats, Juan may realize the failings of the Left and change to be a Republican like we did.

Then Fox’s boast of being fair and balanced would be less true by being that less balanced. But I’d love to see a conservative black commentator of his caliber and fame on a major network.

Michael Martone

I think we should make a distinction. Liberals didn’t do this. Liberals in the media did this and this is a big difference. I think Bernie doesn’t realize this. The liberal media fired Juan Williams not liberals. There is a big difference between the two. Your average everyday liberal has a 9 – 5 job and has a family to support. The liberal media live in their own world shut off from your average american and they think everyone in middle America are a bunch of “stupid hicks”. They have no tolerance for a nonliberal point of you. Your average liberal may vehmently disagree with a conservative but they’re still accepting of other points of views(well most of the time). I should point out that I consider myself a moderate Independent and my stances of issues vary. I have problems with both political parties.
This story no doubt is a case of how illtolerant and bias the liberal media is. Juan Williams shouldn’t haven been fired and the people at NPR should apologize to him. But don’t hold your breath on that. NPR lost all my respect with this and I think most peoples even thoughtful liberals. This case probably puts the final coffin in the case for the out-of-control bias in the liberal media. I respect both liberals and conservatives. I think liberals and conservatives have gone too far and we don’t have a middle in politics anymore. But the people at NPR did this not your average liberal who tries to make in todays society. If we don’t make a distinction between the liberal media and liberals we are utterly lost in politics. I think this is something that is lost by Bernie and other partisans. Wake up and don’t lump everybody in to one category.

Berg

Then why call them “Liberals”? From what your post, with which I tend to agree, it appears that thare are two kinds of liberalism: one for life and one for the media, aka mainstream (or lamestream).
Just switch liberal media with far-left media and we’re okay.

chuck

“But the people at NPR did this not your average liberal who tries to make in todays society. If we don’t make a distinction between the liberal media and liberals we are utterly lost in politics. I think this is something that is lost by Bernie and other partisans. Wake up and don’t lump everybody in to one category.”

It sounds like you liberals are in the same position as American Muslims when it comes to the fringe not speaking for the entire group. I hope you handle it better than the ‘non radical’ Muslims have so far.

J E Viosca

Like many others here, I have often utterly disagreed with some of the points Juan Williams has made on Fox.Unlike some of the liberals who are seen regularly on the same network (Colmes comes to mind), Mr. Williams seems to come to the table with an open mind; he is willing to listen, and actually think about what those he disagrees with are saying. He doesn’t have the anger and bitterness so obvious in the others. He’s right: NPR was looking for an excuse to fire him for his association w/ FNC.They’ve come out of this looking like close-minded, cowardly mouthpieces for Soros and his thugs.

Terence A Craig

No doubt NPR is making a big mistake here, but not so fast on trotting out the Liberal Bogeyman. Someone goofed at NPR but the backlash is proving to be NOT worth the effort. If it were NPR’s intent to silence Juan Williams, they’ve only given him a bigger platform to speak.

Bernie says he feels bad for Juan, but why? He got a raise/contract at Fox News, plenty of attention and probably a lawsuit settlement coming his way, I don’t feel sorry for Juan and I would like to be in his position right now. Besides, who would have ever heard of Juan Williams if it weren’t for his Fox News and Sunday Morning show appearances.

Freedom of Speech will prevail here, Mr. Williams is free to discuss the situation wherever he wants; NPR made their own bed.

Along the lines of Freedom of Speech, I was banned from the discussion forum on this website for less than what Juan Williams said. If administration will not acknowledge the situation, I must bring it up publicly. It doesn’t work to condemn Freedom of Speech elsewhere if it’s going on right here. Here’s the thread for anyone interested:

Mr. Goldberg, please have administration review this situation with the moderator-in- question and have the unfair ban lifted. I’m also not pleased with his posting of excerpts from a private message (even though he inadvertently proved I apologized for the “case closed” incident that he kept bringing up.)

Regards,
Terence

Kathie Ampela

I respectfully disagree with you, Terence. I watched Juan on O’Reilly tonight and I think he is geniunely insulted and upset by what NPR did to him. We’d all like to have a cool $2 million like he got today, but it’s not always about the money.
He was slandered by the CEO of NPR on national TV…he seemed truly upset by that.

It’s much more serious than someone “just goofed” at NPR..George Soros gave a 1.8 million grant to NPR this week..he also gave Media Matters a $1 million to go after Fox..he admitted as much in a press release. The very best you can say about NPR is that an atrocious double standard exists and that’s being charitable. At worst, they are totalitarians, well funded by Soros and getting our tax dollars to boot.

I agree with another post I saw here. We need to start making distinctions between liberals and liberal media..but I will take it a step further..progressives give liberals a bad name and we need to make distinctions there as well.

Ron Kean

Stop that nonsense. Bernie and his crew have the prerogative and you do not.

It’s as if you were invited to dinner. You have no more right here to demand obedience from the Goldberg crew than you would from your host.

Terence A Craig

What’s prerogative?

Ron Kean

pre·rog·a·tive
[pri-rog-uh-tiv, puh-rog-] Show IPA
–noun
1.
an exclusive right, privilege, etc., exercised by virtue of rank, office, or the like: the prerogatives of a senator.
2.
a right, privilege, etc., limited to a specific person or to persons of a particular category: It was the teacher’s prerogative to stop the discussion.
3.
a power, immunity, or the like restricted to a sovereign government or its representative: The royal prerogative exempts the king from taxation.

http://orbis@bellsouth.net Jan

Mr. Goldberg,
As usual, you are spot on about NPR firing Juan Williams. I am a conservative, who does watch Fox News, but I felt so bad yesterday when I heard they’d fired Mr. Juan Willams. I felt he did give the liberal talking points on Fox, but was at the same time objective with his political analysis. and offered objective opposite analysis of the liberal view point, which Fox offers anytime they can. He didn’t deserve to be fired for what he said, giving his honest feelings of fear he had, etc., and not encouraging anyone else to change their views on this. He deserved a face to face meeting at NPR, at the least! I feel he will go on to much better places than where he was, to offer his valuable views and anlysis of politics, etc. He is very sincere. I am so glad he’ll be on Fox even more and that he won’t be left out in the cold, looking for a new work position. Fox really stepped up there, Mr. Murdoch. I have e-mailed Mr. Williams, and wished him the best. May God bless him and his family as he moves on.

Jan

EddieD_Boston

Pretty much sums up liberalism. They eat their own. But don’t feel too sorry for Mr Williams. He’ll make a ton of doe when he sues them.

http://svmissinglink.blogspot.com/ Wil Burns

How about Helen Thomas and Rick Sanchez, do you feel their pain too?

Henry Yu

Neither Helen nor Rick had an association with FOX News as far as I could tell.

Jeffreydan

Listen to the entire quote by Juan, including what’s past the portion Bernie excerpted above, Wil. Then listen to the entire quotes by Sanchez and Thomas. Insodoing, you’ll discover that the comparisons aren’t apt.

I’m not sure my suggestion would make a difference–you’ve established around here you’re not much of a listener.

Kathie Ampela

Political correctness is a form of liberal fascism. Juan Williams is a liberal. I’ve heard Juan Williams’ opinons many times and most of the time I didn’t agree with them. But he was always intelligent and fair. NPR is a progressive outlet. (National Progressive Radio) Progressives are liberal fascists. Among the many lessons we can learn from this fiasco is to start making the distinction between the two. Bernie, this is not the death of liberalism, but the rise of liberal facism or progressivism. A progressive is a wolf in liberal’s clothing.

When I first heard about this at 8:00 yesterday morning, I felt fear in the pit of my stomach. The first amendment was under attack by a far left billionaire named George Soros. What a difference a day makes! Bravo to Fox News for signing Juan to a 3 year, $2 million dollar contract. Nothing like a little F.U. to NPR and Soros.

The hypocrisy about the firing of Juan Williams boggles the mind on so many levels. Why was an affiliate employee of NPR named Sarah Spitz allowed to wish death on Rush Limbaugh and that was not a firing offense? Why is Juan Williams the only black journalist at NPR and he’s been sacked? Where is the NAACP and Al Sharpton on that one? It kind of smacks of intolerance to me.
I saw Laura Ingraham on Bill’s show last night and she made an excellent point. Minorites and women are supposed to have a certain viewpoint and if they dare to deviate from that viewpoint, they must be taken out. Does that sound liberalism or progressivism to you?

Terry Walbert

Bernie,

You wrote “His firing will make lots of other Americans think twice before they say something the boss may not like.”

I disagree. The reaction shows that most Americans are anything but cowed by the radical left. Maybe the lesson that people will take away is that getting fired by idiots is not the worst thing that can happen to you. Juan is now a national hero and got a nice new contract from Fox.

Hey, Juan. Talk to your lawyer about what happened at NPR and sue the bastards.

http://www.lillian-davis.blogspot.com Lily

I don’t usually agree with Juan Williams but there are men and women who are dying daily for his right to say it! I will stand side by side with him to stand for his right to speak his mind! There are many others whose opinions I detest (I do not detest Mr. Williams opinions I just disagree with them) but I will still stand for their right to be free to say what’s on their mind!

I used to listen to NPR sometimes because some of the programs were good, I love the classical music that is played on our local station, and I love the programs that talk to movie makers and actors. Yesterday I wrote to NPR using their “contact us” I titled it “Juan Williams” and in a nutshell I told them I would no longer listen to them, and would take an active stance to see to it that no more Federal monies would flow their way, either in the form of grants or outright giving to it. I sent it…it would not go through. So I hit the send button two more times, still no response. I went back and changed the subject line to “Unconscionable” and then hit send…it went through!! Makes me think their filter may prevent certain emails from going through. Just saying…

Jean

Sometimes I get aggravated with Juan, but Freedom of Speech is under fire. Maybe Juan’s firing will wake more people up to what is happening with our Constitution. Glad Juan will be staying with Fox. We need to hear both sides of every argument. What a novel idea?

Elias

Mr. Juan Williams’ rights were attacked and violated yesterday. If we allow such attacks to happen without protest, then we are co-conspirators of murdering one of our greatest civil and human rights, Freedom of Speech.

Fear is a natural instinct in humans, especially after the terrible assault that happened on September 11; we all MUST have absolute right to express our fears.

Many times I disagree with Mr. Williams’ political opinion, but this time, he has all my support.

Ted

This weekend when I again listen to NPR I will wait for their reporter to ask for a donation. They often return some sort of prize to reward your donation. I’ll phone in and ask if I can get an autographed copy of Juan’s recent photograph.

Edward A. DeCosmo

It’s clear NPR wanted to get rid of Williams but couldn’t fire him for being on Fox since he has been on Fox for a long time and kept his NPR job. So, this is, in the case of Williams, a red herring.
There are other issues here. In my market, the public radio station raises money on the ruse that it goes to support classical music. Some does; some also goes to NPR.
But why do we need NPR or its parent, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting at all? Public TV and radio were created before cable. It was billed an alternative to the three networks. Today, the public channels are among 600 possible channels. Why do we support them? To find work for liberal pseudo-journalists.

The fraud of liberals today has become so apparent that liberal journalists are ashamed to identify themselves. Ask one if he or she is a liberal and they say, “I’m a progressive.”
If it walks like a duck ……

Craig Matteson

Bernie,

Please don’t confuse Progressive Leftists with classical Liberalism. They Progressives stole the term Liberal when their real name got a bad reputation in the early 20th Century. When Liberalism (the Progressive kind) got a bad rep in the last decade of the 20th Century and the first one in the 21st, they switched back to Progressive.

But their core values have NEVER truly been in harmony with the tolerance, balance, freedom, and responsibility of Classical Liberalism.

So, don’t be fooled by their shell game with whatever names they move around the table.

TOMMY FREEDOM

SORRY, I DONT AGREE, WE SAW THE PSEUDO- CONSERVATIVES ON TV
THROW A LIBERAL LOVE FEST, WE SAW THE LIBERALS LAST
NITE. I HAVE NO USE FOR NPR, MAKE NO MISTAKE.

BUT EVERY WEEK AND SHOW, REPUBS- NO MEAT ON THE BONE, REPUBS- NO NEW IDEAS, WE MUST GO FORWARD W/ OBAMA,
CANT GO BACK TO OLD IDEAS, ANY NEGATIVE ON OBAMA, HE BEGAN A
RANT, DISRUPTIVE, TALKED OVER OTHER PANELISTS, VERY RUDE,
A MOUTHPIECE FOR THE WHITEHOUSE, HONEY HIT ” MUTE “

SHERRY NYE

It is pretty scary thaqt one could lose their job for expressing a personal opinion. I believe that is censorship of the worst kind. This is what the Liberal Agenda is all about. Brainwashing in the schools and in the workplace. It can only be their way

Craig A Cassen

Several years ago I was coming home to the US from a business trip to
Great Britain. I had upgraded myself to first-class and was pleasantly
surprised to see author Salman Rushdie a few seats forward of me.

It was only after we were in the air that I began to get a little nervous about
the fact that all of my other passengers were on a plane 30,000+ feet up
over the Atlantic with a person who had a “fatwa” hanging over his head.

It was not a comfortable realization—I guess that makes me a racist!

phil

What a travesty, I have not always agreed with Juan but I have always believed him to be a good and decent man with great integrity. This is a sad day for liberalism as they have tarnished one of their own.

phil

What a travesty, I have not always agreed with Juan but I believe him to be a good and decent man with great integrity. What a sad day for liberalism, they have tarnished one of their own.

Bruce A.

Liberal or not I have always liked and respected Juan Williams as a political commentator. In the long run being fired from a low class and heavily biased operation like NPR can only enhance his professional career and reputation.
Good for Juan & good for Fox.

http://svmissinglink.blogspot.com/ Wil Burns

Bruce, Juan is a Fox News version of a liberal. His job will continue to be that of a weak sister when he’s disagreeing with the boys. More importantly though, he will be there to AGREE with the boys most of the time, allowing Fox News to spin the meme that even REASONABLE (i.e. faux) liberals agree with their propaganda.

Patrick

A year old I know, but I’m so glad this punk Wil doesn’t stick his face around here no more.

http://blog.cyberquill.com Cyberquill

If I see people who are identifying themselves first and foremost as either liberals or conservatives, I get worried. I get nervous. (The nice thing about having no job is that I can say stuff like that without having to worry about getting fired.)

Tim

As a conservative I didn’t agree with Juan Williams politics a lot. But as an intelligent Liberal, Juan forced me to think. Thanks Juan.